(Intense Audio) Su-34 Bomber Maneuvers to Survive Patriot Missile Launches

An audio recording associated with a Russian Su-34 bomber, callsign 754, captures an air-combat engagement near Mariupol in Ukraine. The aircraft was conducting an attack run when it was engaged by a Ukrainian Patriot surface-to-air missile system.

The crew responded by maneuvering the aircraft to reduce the missile's ability to maintain an effective intercept. The account describes the Su-34 dragging and notching the incoming missile in different directions in an effort to deplete its energy.

At least one missile exploded close to the aircraft. The near explosion damaged the aircraft's intercom system, leaving the pilot commander and navigator struggling to hear one another for the remainder of the sortie.

The recording contains communications between the Su-34 crew and a controller during the engagement. The recording's associated account identifies the pilot as Andrei and the navigator as Viktor, while the aircraft used callsign 754.

The engagement is notable because the recording provides an unusual look at the cockpit communications surrounding a surface-to-air missile threat. It also shows how a crew's ability to coordinate can become another problem when an aircraft survives the initial weapon engagement but suffers damage to an internal communications system.

Because the available material concerns an active military conflict, details beyond the recorded communications and the associated account should be treated carefully. The documented elements are the Su-34 callsign, the Patriot engagement near Mariupol, the defensive maneuvering, the close missile explosion and the subsequent intercom problem.

Accident Facts

Recorded line: “This recording captures an encounter between a Su-34 bomber (callsign “754”) and multiple launches from a Patriot SAM (Surface-to-Air Missile) battery near Mariupol.”

Sources

YouTube recording: “Su-34 Narrowly Survives Encounter with Patriot Missile | Real Life Audio.”

Associated recording description identifying callsign 754 and the cockpit roles.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0Fseo44SQY